Delta Church - SPI

Psalm 27:1-14 “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Many of us have heard this phrase before. And in one way or another, many of us may have even counseled someone along these lines. But while there is a measure of truth in this phrase, what if there is a better path forward when the going gets tough. In a nutshell, this phrase is basically saying—“When life gets hard, the answer is to become stronger.” The subtle implication is that the strength you need is found within you. But along comes Psalm 27 calling us down an entirely different path. Forsake self-confidence and rest in God-confidence. Main Idea—When my confidence is grounded in who the LORD is, I can take courage in my troubles and wait for the LORD to act.

Acts 13:1-12 This is the day we celebrated the sending of Gospel Community Church from Delta Church to plant in Athens, IL. Thus, we turned to the church in Antioch in Acts 13 to glory in what happens when a church follows the Spirit and sends Everyday Disciples so people hear and believe the gospel.

Acts 1:6-8; 8:26-40 Attitude and action. In so many areas of life, one leads to the other because what we believe [ the attitudes of our heart ] shape how we behave [ the actions we take ]. Previously in Acts 4 we learned that Spirit-fullness results in boldness. This is a key attitude the Spirit produces in the life of the Believer. But if this is the attitude, then it begs the question—“What is the resulting action?” Acts 8 provides an answer: if boldness is the attitude, then powerful witness is the action. For most of us, we will never have a Peter-like moment of preaching to thousands. But every one of us will have Philip-like moments for one-to-one witness in everyday life. So what does the action of a Spirit-filled witness look like? It looks like two simple things—they follow the Spirit’s leading, and they explain the good news of Jesus. Main Idea—Spirit-filled witnesses follow the Spirit and explain the good news of Jesus.

Acts 2:42-47 Now what do I do? Have you ever asked yourself that question? This is what the crowd asked Peter after his Pentecost sermon. Peter has just preached the gospel with Spirit-empowered authority. And as a result, many “were cut to the heart” (v. 37). Luke records their immediate question—“What shall we do?” On one hand the answer was repent and be baptized. But notice, Luke does not leave the question there. The Spirit was reigning—and now there were three thousand spiritual newborns. But salvation was not the conclusion of the Spirit’s work. Once they came up out of the water, He did not step back. Why? Because if the Spirit truly reigns, then His rule would shape not only how these men and women were saved, but also how they were to grow. This text shows us what Spirit-filled disciples do as the Spirit continues to reign in their life. Main Idea—Where the Spirit reigns, a people devoted to spiritual growth will rise.

Isaiah 26:6-9 In the face of death, the loss and sorrow can be disorienting. But praise God that in His Word we have much hope that can and does sustain us in the face of death. Isaiah 25 is one such place. Here the prophet declares that God will swallow up death forever. The Lord has spoken and it will be done. This has been fulfilled greatly in the resurrection of Jesus and will be fulfilled finally in the return of Jesus. Lord hasten the day!

1 John 5:13-15 How do you spend time with someone in your life? Say you want to share an afternoon together with a friend, what do you do? What you do is talk to them. And during those times you talk about what matters to you and what matters to them. In the same way, this is how we spend time with God—by talking to Him about things that matter to us, and to Him. When we do this, the Bible calls this prayer. God’s Word is full of promises about prayer. And one of my favorite promises is found in our verses this morning—God has promised to hear and answer the prayers of all who belong to Him.

Psalm 119:9-11 Even as a child it is possible to fight sin! The psalmist aims his words to the “young man” telling him to guard his heart and treasure up God’s word in heart. Why? So that he might not sin against God. The Bible protects us from sin and there is no better age to learn that as children and youth!

Matthew 2:1-12